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East Bay Drive returns to The Homestead’s “Music on the Mountain” series
Upcoming EventThe concluding show for Music On The Mountain at The Homestead on Sept. 9 will feature the easy-grooving sounds of East Bay Drive, the popular Traverse City-based jazz band. Now an official five-piece, it will be augmented again this year by special guest Miriam Pico on vocals. The band is an outgrowth of happenstance and shared interests. When longtime Traverse City pianist David Chown was forced to leave his studio at the Village at Grand Traverse Commons, his occasional bandmate Rick Kiehle suggested they go in together on a space that could serve as an office and studio for both of them. That would also allow them to enlist others as their musical needs dictated.
Stolen lands, settler dreams
Historical Feature, Letter to editor/OpinionThe story of Jason Cross, Northport resident Rick Cross’ third great-grandfather, cannot be told without understanding the land he settled, Rick writes in this op-ed observing the nation’s semiquincentennial. That understanding requires confronting the history that made that land available. Jason Cross’ journey—from New Hampshire to Vermont, from Vermont to Western New York, and later to Michigan—follows the pattern of a nation moving ever westward. But beneath that familiar pioneer story is a deeper truth, one that came into focus only after Rick watched Ken Burns’s account of the Sullivan–Clinton Campaign in Episode Five of “The American Revolution.” That campaign reshaped the very ground Jason later called home.
Homestead Resort ups its art game
Business Feature, NewsA reception Aug. 12 with featured artist Adam VanHouten officially kicked off both the opening of the new art gallery at The Homestead and its partnership with Oliver Art Center. In addition to works by VanHouten, the gallery includes a number of works by area artists depicting scenes and views around the Sleeping Bear area. “It has taken a while to get here, but I am very pleased with the results,” said Bob Kuras, owner and CEO of the Glen Arbor resort. “Our permanent gallery and the rotating works will showcase some of the vibrant art and the artists who call the area home.”
Labor Day bridge walkers continue to afterparty at Glen Lake Manor
Business Feature, Upcoming EventThose who remain up north and walk across the Glen Lake Narrows Bridge at noon on Labor Day Monday will get an extra treat this year. Glen Lake Manor owners Sue and Robert Rife will host an afterparty from 12:30-2 pm at the 120-year-old estate on M-22—0.4 miles west of the bridge. The event might double as a goodbye party of sorts for the Rifes, since the Manor is under contract to sell. The Bridge Walk, a locals’ tradition since 1995 to mark the end of the summer tourism season, takes place this year on Sept. 7. Bridge Walk 2026 t-shirts will be available for sale at the Narrows Bridge.
Jazz pianist Jeff Haas finds another musical home in Leelanau
Business Feature, Local Personality, Upcoming EventFor years, Traverse City pianist Jeff Haas performed in Leelanau County in various locations. Most recently, he played on Wednesdays at the Folded Leaf in Cedar, until the untimely closure of the bookstore and listening room. A chance encounter led to Haas returning to an old home, albeit one with a new name. Beginning Sept. 2, he will be playing Wednesday nights at Faro in Northport from 6-8 pm. “I have a history in Northport,” Haas says, noting he continues to have people asking him when he’ll be playing jazz there again.
Seized by the day at Empire Bluff Trail
Poetry/EssayThere are days that do the seizing, manifesting a startling beauty that grips your attention and encourages you to set aside concerns, take a timeout from distractedness, and immerse yourself in an encounter with the sublime, writes Tim Mulherin. That happened to him on the afternoon of Monday, May 11, when he received an irresistible, wordless invitation to head for a certain cherished spot at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Can Storytelling Heal a “National Divorce” Between Neighbors?
Investigative Article, Local Personality, NewsSome 226 years ago Thomas Jefferson wrote, “I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” Today, a group of Leelanau County neighbors is now testing whether that idea still holds true: that disagreeing with someone on fundamental issues doesn’t have to mean losing them. The results have come to fruition in a local storytelling campaign titled Community Conversations: Exploring What Matters to Our Neighbors. The initiative examines the values and life experiences of 17 residents of the Grand Traverse Region through personal narratives. Those conversations have evolved into an exhibit of photography portraits paired with each storyteller’s words.
Could wildfire smoke change the flavor of wine grapes in northern Michigan?
Food/Organic Living, Investigative ArticleWhen wildfire smoke blanketed northern Michigan skies in mid-July, Kasey Wierzba thought the vineyard at Shady Lane Cellars in Suttons Bay looked like a different planet. “That kind of pinky, peachy haze really was filtering through the whole vineyard. The visibility was really minimal,” Wierzba, who is the general manager and executive winemaker at Shady Lane Cellars, told Vivian La of Interlochen Public Radio. Wierzba also thought about how the smoke might impact the grapes, something that the wine industry is becoming more familiar with as wildfires increase in frequency and intensity.
Cedar Polka Fest dances August away
Upcoming EventThe Cedar Polka Fest is an annual festival celebrating the towns rich Polish history. Lasting four days and nights, nearly 10,000 people descend on tiny Cedar in the heart of Leelanau County for family fun. Join Cedar to eat, drink, and dance the nights away. This is one of very few Polka Festivals left in the United States. The 44th annual Cedar Polka Fest kicks off Thursday, Aug. 27, under the big tent. The Polka Festival has become a signature event in Leelanau.
Even gangsters need a vacation
Historical Feature, Investigative ArticleAl Capone in Leelanau County?! According to local historian, journalist, and storyteller Larry Wakefield, “Even gangsters, it seems, have to take vacations,” he wrote in his book “Ernest Hemingway Fished Here.” In the mid-1990s, Rebecca Carlson and her friends were given the opportunity to walk with a property owner in the area along Lake Michigan, south of Duck Lake, to the ‘rumored’ cottages of gangster Al Capone, AKA Scarface. While there was heavy tree growth, they walked a two-track until coming upon a run-down, two-story cottage looking like it was going to fall into Lake Michigan. The front porch of the cottage sat precariously on the edge of a bluff overlooking the lake. They saw a partial structure that they were told was once a gun-tower. There were several other run-down outbuildings. The whole area was remote.